


The Alternate Universes

by Kingofthenerdz



Series: Now and Then [6]
Category: Saints Row
Genre: F/F, F/M, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-02
Updated: 2017-01-02
Packaged: 2018-09-14 08:05:09
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,112
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9169963
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kingofthenerdz/pseuds/Kingofthenerdz
Summary: Sometimes canon just isn't enough. A collection of Alternate Universe fics all centred around Boss Amethyst.





	

**Author's Note:**

> When Johnny doesn't come back from Hell, Amethyst must go on without him. She finds happiness in a place that she never thought of before. 
> 
> This is almost as long as my dissertation.

The spot they’d appeared back at was still empty. No more portals had opened up, and Johnny still hadn’t come back. She was staring, and she knew it was ridiculous, but she couldn’t shake the feeling that something was really wrong. Chewing on one of her nails, she folded her legs underneath her as she continued her vigil. Why wasn’t he back? Kinzie and Jezebel were with her, so the portal had clearly worked. She had watched him walk through it with the rest of them, unless something had happened. Fuck, she didn’t understand this whole portal thing. Kinzie was grilling Jezebel on what had happened, but Jezebel had no idea. Her magic had faded now that she wasn’t in Hell, and her trying to use it had drawn blanks. The most she could figure out was that he wasn’t in Hell anymore. But if he wasn’t there, where could he be? Why wouldn’t he be on the ship with her? She was losing her best friend and first love all over again, and she could feel herself slipping into a dark place that she hadn’t seen in years.

 

“Boss, you need to eat.” Shaundi was saying, but she could barely hear her. Shaundi was carrying a tray of food, and Am didn’t acknowledge her walking into the room. She continued to stare at the spot where, just a few hours before, they had returned. Shaundi placed the tray beside her, and Am could smell that she’d put effort in making a home-cooked meal for her. She glanced at the plate- it was just a simple chicken and pasta dish- but it held no interest to her. She pushed the plate away and Shaundi sighed.

“Don’t you remember what happened last time?” She asked, and her tone was way too harsh for Am’s liking. Am glared at the younger woman, but Shaundi was undeterred. She sat down in the seat next to her, turning Am’s chair so they were facing each other.

“He’ll be back.” She said confidently, but the look in her eyes showed the truth. Shaundi had given up already, just like the rest of them. Shaundi had mourned him years ago, and losing him again wasn’t affecting her anywhere near as much as it had done the first time. Am had to look down, away from her eyes. Shaundi would never say it out loud, but Am knew her friend better than that. She’d accepted that he wasn’t coming back from Hell, and she needed Am to do the same.

If only it was that simple. She couldn’t give up on him. She’d never accepted that he was dead back in Steelport, and she couldn’t accept that he wasn’t coming back now. She loved him, goddammit. She couldn’t lose him again after only just getting him back.

“Boss. Please eat something.” Shaundi said again, obviously noticing Am looking back over at where the portal had been. Am shook her head.

“I’m not hungry.” She whispered, pulling her knees up to her chest, wrapping her arms around herself. Everyone always worried about if she was eating or not, for no reason. Just because she would forget to eat or not be hungry, it seemed to mean that she had something wrong with her. They’d bring her food, but she never understood why.

 

She felt Shaundi sit vigil with her, and barely noticed when Pierce replaced her. The hours passed, and she knew her crew were taking turns to sit with her, but all she could focus on was her own sadness. It felt like she was in a dark hole, being consumed by a devastating emptiness.

 

-

 

“We found a planet.” Kinzie said, spinning around to look at her. Both her and Matt looked excited at the prospect, but all Am could do was wrap her arms around herself and tip her head at the tech team. Kinzie took that as encouragement to continue so she motioned at the screen in front of her. Am stepped forward and looked at the picture. It looked very much like Earth, she’d give her that. And if they thought that they could make this work, then she would trust them.

“Only problem is that it’s already inhabited.” Matt said, and Am turned to him. She didn’t need to speak for him to know what she would suggest. He nodded and stood, probably to go tell the rest of the crew. She didn’t care what they did. She was carrying on because she had to, just like the first time she lost him. She had barely spoken a word since she had left her spot in the computer room, and she rarely came up here, the pain still fresh in her mind.

 

-

 

“Amethyst? Can we talk?” Jezebel’s soft voice tore her away from checking her weapons. She raised an eyebrow at her use of her full name, but Jezebel didn’t seem to notice. She breezed across the room, sitting on the bench next to her.

“I think I finally figured out where he went.” She whispered, looking down at her hands. Am tensed at the mention of Johnny. It’d been months since anyone had even dared say his name in front of her, and Jezebel bringing him up now was incredibly dangerous for the both of them. Jezebel just took her silence as encouragement and carried on speaking.

“You know my magic doesn’t really work very reliably here, but I’ve been having dreams recently. I didn’t think much of them at first, and then Johnny appeared in them, and I knew they weren’t dreams. They were images from Heaven.”

“Heaven? Why would he be in Heaven?” Am’s voice was hoarse from underuse. She surprised herself at the sound of it. She hadn’t spoken aloud in a long time now. Ever since he didn’t come back from Hell with them, she had shut off. She knew what she was doing, and she knew it caused the rest of the crew pain, but if she had thought losing him once was hard, losing him a second time was worse. Jezebel was looking at her in concern, and Am knew just from that look alone that whatever she had to say was bad news. She sighed and put the gun down to reassure her that she would be safe, no matter what it was that she had to tell her. Jezebel still looked nervous though, her teeth working on her bottom lip as she tapped her fingers on her knee. Am waited patiently until she was ready to speak.

“Aisha was there.” She blurted out, and her hands immediately went to her mouth, her eyes widening in shock.

“Aisha? And Johnny? In Heaven?” Her blood ran cold. The only way that could happen is if-

“I think God rewarded him with the chance to be with her.” Jezebel scooted away from her, terrified of her reaction. Am wished she had the energy or emotion to react in the way that she thought that she would. She could barely get out of bed in the morning, and this other woman thought that she had the energy to kill her for delivering this news to her. Am was silent, processing this information. He gave up life to be with Aisha. It was his only chance to get into Heaven and see her again. It must’ve been such an easy choice for him. Give up being with her to be with the great love of his life.

“Go.” She whispered, unable to look at Jezebel anymore. She scrambled to her feet, not wasting any time in getting out of her way.

 

He had left her, so it meant that he didn’t love her. And if he didn’t love her, then none of the people on this ship loved her either. He was her oldest friend, and if he didn’t care about her, she wouldn’t be surprised if everybody else didn’t care either. He gave up life to be with Aisha, and thinking about that made her heart hurt more than just knowing that he hadn’t come back. Her eyes stung as tears began to fall, her chest tightening. She wrapped her arms around herself, trying to stop herself from crying, but there was nothing she could do. Sliding to the floor, she pulled her knees up to her chest, burying her face in them.

 

-

 

Blood covered her from head to toe. She didn’t remember when it had happened. She hadn’t meant to lose control like that, but it had worked in their favour. They had won this first battle for the land on this planet, and driven back the reinforcements that had tried to ambush them when they had drawn back. She made her way through the bodies, not really concentrating on what she was doing. The numbness was back, all the rage that had come out during the battle washed away by this horrible empty feeling. Some days, she really didn’t know why she was still doing this. Why she didn’t just take a one-way trip to some other time in the time machine and never have to see these people again.

 

Then there was shouting, and people were shooting again. Looking up, she saw a group charging them. These guys were either brave or stupid, and had no idea who they were dealing with. Checking her weapon, she began to fire rounds almost blindly at the group. There were too many of them, and her heart sunk when she realised what was going to happen. Then, it felt like the world had slowed down. She felt pressure, and she took a shaky breath as the feeling of being punched in the chest happened again and again. Collapsing to her knees, she closed her eyes as she fell to the floor.

 

She was dying. She could tell that much. She couldn’t even feel the pain of the bullets that had ripped through her chest, but she could feel herself struggling to catch her breath. Her vision was fading, and she knew it was too late. They’d never find her in time to try to save her. Even if they did find her, there was nothing they could do. She could feel her body failing as she looked up at the stars peacefully shining in the night sky.

 

She closed her eyes once again and accepted death with open arms.

 

-

 

When she opened her eyes again, she was in a white room. She was alone, and she really hoped that this wasn’t her punishment. She’d rather be tortured for the rest of eternity than have to stand in an empty room.

 

“Don’t worry, this is just a waiting room.” A voice echoed through the space, but no one appeared in front of her. The voice sounded odd, like there were several people speaking at once, but she was unable to pick out a particular voice to concentrate on. She had an idea who might be speaking to her, but she couldn’t believe that God would actually want to waste time on a sinner like her, when he could just throw her in a pit, never to be seen or heard from again for the rest of eternity.

 

“Waiting for what?” She asked, quirking an eyebrow. “If this is death, I’m not a fan. Send me back.”

 

The voice chuckled at her statement, and continued. “I find that I’m in need of your help.”

 

“And what could a random voice possibly want from me? I can’t really help you find a body. I’m kind of dead.” She paced the room, exploring the walls for a way out. Each wall was as smooth and windowless as the last. Death was going to get very boring very quickly if this was what came after. Here she was hoping that she’d get to go back to Hell. At least there she could deal with lava pits and the endless screaming from tortured souls.

“I want you to rule Hell.” The voice said, almost reading her mind. She stopped in her tracks, standing up straight.

“What?” She was confused. Obviously God was having some kind of stroke. She was a good leader, she’d definitely shown that, but Hell? God wanted her to rule Hell?

“No one has been keeping Hell under control since Satan’s demise. There have been people who have tried, but I think that you are the perfect fit for the job.”

 

“I’m not objecting, but… Fuck. You sure you want me as your new devil?” The more she thought about it, the more convinced she was that this was a good idea. God obviously agreed with her as they continued speaking.

 

“I think you’d be more cooperative than Satan was.” She thought about it for a moment and nodded slowly.

 

“Then seeing as this is an agreement, can we talk about me having some kick-ass powers?”

 

“I’m not forcing you into this, so you can have the freedom to come and go as you please. I understand that because of the apocalypse things aren’t exactly easy down there at the moment, so I am willing to cooperate with you on any ideas you might have to improve Hell.” She raised an eyebrow at God’s voice, but she agreed with them. She didn’t want to storm Heaven and claim it for herself. She would be happy enough ruling Hell her own way, and now that they were speaking, she had ideas running through her head.

 

She nodded again and felt her body go warm, power flowing through her. It only lasted a few moments, but when it was over, the powerful feeling hadn’t left her. Glancing down, she could see the tattoo on her forearm glowing, the small flowers of the cherry blossom opening and closing, rustling in an imaginary breeze. She looked back up toward where the voice had come from.

 

“Am I doing that?” She asked, and the voice chuckled again.

“You can do a lot more than that. Think about your new wings.” They instructed, and she immediately followed their instruction. She felt something appear on her back, heavy and soft. Stretching her wings, she smiled. She spun around to admire them, feeling just like the statue of the Saint of all Saints. They were beautifully white, just like she’d imagined an angel’s would be.

 

“These are amazing.” She whispered, completely mesmerised by the wings. She opened them and tested out the movements. It was just like having another set of arms on her back, and she barely had to think to move them. She flapped her wings once, and it felt so natural to her. Waving her hand, a mirror appeared in front of her when she thought about it and she checked herself out. She wasn’t skeletal anymore, her body returned to the healthy state she had been in during her presidency. Turning around, she looked at the wings. Purple veins sprouted from where they connected with her back, snaking down to her waist, around the tattoo on her shoulder. The rose was moving the same way that the cherry blossom on her arm was.

 

“I’m glad you like them.” God said, as she curled the wings back into her body.

 

“Thank you.” She said, brushing her blonde hair back from her eyes. “I can already tell we’re going to have a pretty good time working together.”

 

“I think so too.” The voice agreed, and she smiled again as she felt herself disappearing down to the depths of Hell.

 

-

 

 

She’d never been to Satan’s palace before, and she wasn’t planning on going any time soon. But then a group of demons had landed on the hood of her car and pretty much dragged her all the way there. She had no idea what for- all she’d been doing in hell was race cars through the rubble covered streets. It had been a challenge at first to navigate the dusty tracks, but she kind of liked the random obstacles. They added a new element to racing that she wasn’t used to. There was no reason Satan would want to talk to her about this, so she struggled the entire way down the corridor. As they reached the throne room, they threw her down next to two men.

 

As she got her wits about her, she looked at the two figures on the floor next to her, and gasped. She hadn’t seen Troy and Dex since she’d died, and hadn’t gone looking for them when she had heard that they had arrived down here. She tried to get up to run away, because her being hauled into Satan’s throne room with these two meant nothing but bad things, but a demon held her down.

 

“Bow for your Queen.” It hissed at her and she tried to look up at the throne. Queen? Since when had Satan been a woman? Glancing at Troy and Dex, she noticed that they both looked just as confused as she was.

 

“I don’t think that’s quite necessary.” A familiar voice called from the throne. The demons backed off, and she was finally able to get a good look at the woman at the top of the stairs.

 

Lin blinked a few times, trying to place the voice. Troy and Dex looked at each other and immediately backed off as Lin watched the woman throw her blonde hair over her shoulder. She stood, eyeing the three stood below her with a sort of silent amusement that Lin didn’t understand. Her long legs were made longer by the high heels that the woman clearly didn’t need. The slits in the black evening gown she was wearing giving her glimpses of tanned, smooth skin as she moved. The dress was low cut, showing off her impressive cleavage. Lin gulped. She hadn’t expected the devil to look quite like this. But she still couldn’t shake the feeling that she’d seen this person before.

 

“Let me properly introduce myself.” She said as she leisurely walked down the stairs.

“My name is Amethyst. I was previously the Boss of the Third Street Saints, President of the United States and the Empress of the Galaxy, but now I’m the Queen of Hell.” Lin’s mouth dropped open and she immediately mentally kicked herself for not recognising her sooner. She was much older than she had been when Lin was alive.

 

“Am?” She asked, furrowing her brow. “Why are you here?”

 

“Why do you think I’m here?” She laughed as she reached the bottom of the stairs and stood in front of her. “I died and God needed someone to take over Hell.”

 

Troy let out a low whistle and shook his head.

“Jesus, I thought you were actually going to live forever.” He said and Lin still couldn’t believe it was her. She walked toward her, smiling. Amethyst wrapped her up in a hug, smiling widely.

“God I missed you!” She exclaimed, pulling back to look at her.

“I can’t believe you look like this!” Lin replied, completely forgetting that Dex and Troy were in the room with them. She’d missed her friend while she’d been down here, and it had been too long since she’d seen someone that she cared about. She had heard a rumour that Johnny had been down here for a while, but everyone involved didn’t want to reveal anything about what had happened. Now she understood why people weren’t happy to talk. They were putting the kid in charge of Hell, and while Lin wasn’t sure why, she’d heard talk of what had happened in Stilwater after she had died. She’d heard rumours that Amethyst had been blown up and then returned to take the city back for herself. Am was smiling still when she pulled away from the hug, nodding at Dex and Troy. Lin knew that whatever had happened between them all had been forgotten now that they were dead, and knowing Am, she knew that things were going to change down here.

“I’ve got some ideas, and I’m gonna need a crew to make this happen.” She said, turning from the three of them to walk to the conference table. She motioned for them to sit, and Lin walked over without hesitating. Dex and Troy took a few moments to consider their options, but they followed without speaking.

 

-

 

Troy had never known how to approach her since she’d come down to Hell. It had been years and he still shuffled his feet like a child that had been caught doing something he shouldn’t have. She arched an eyebrow at him, and he cleared his throat, searching for the words. She could feel the horrible, itching need to smoke rolling off of him in waves and cursed this part of her powers. She could feel people’s deepest desires, and all Troy wanted at that moment was a cigarette. Waving her hand, a pack appeared in his hand and his eyes widened in shock. Tilting her head, she smiled slightly as she watched him remember the situation. For a moment, he had forgotten that they were in Hell, that Am was the Queen and he was working for her. For a moment in his head, he had gone back to Stilwater, back to a time where things were very different.

“What do you want?” She said, reclining in her throne. Things had been quiet while they had been making the refurbishment plans, and Troy had been successfully leading the police down here, keeping the peace across the millions of souls.

“You said you wanted someone to come find you when someone off your list appeared.” He said calmly, lighting the cigarette. He was more relaxed now he could focus on the cigarette in his hand and not on the devil in front of him. She cocked her head at him again, wondering who he had found. She stayed silent to let him speak again.

“He’s in the waiting room. Dex figured you’d want to go speak to him yourself before he processed him.” Am stood at his words. She’d had a feeling this morning that someone she knew had arrived, but she had dismissed it, instead focusing her attention on the mountain of paperwork that needed combing through. She’d left Lin to do that while she took a break in the throne room, trying to clear her head before she went back to the tedious sorting that needed completing. Once this was sorted, she would be able to get to the fun stuff. She had eternity to rule over Hell, so spending a little time doing boring work would pay off in the long run. With another wave of her hand, they appeared in Dex’s office. Dex looked up from his desk at the two of them, unperturbed by their sudden arrival.

“I still don’t know why he’s part of your crew.” He said, searching through the stack of folders on his desk for the one that she wanted. “He profited off of your story.”

“You say that like I cared about him writing a book.” Am said, picking up the file with Ben’s name on it, flicking through it and smiling at the memories. Each file contained a person’s life story, both the good and the bad, and Dex was the one who had to choose what sentence or personalised Hell each person got. Ben had lived a long life, and she’d only known him through a small part of that. She made a mental note to get a copy to read for later. At least this file was impartial about the things he had done, rather than sugar coating everything like his book had done.

 

With the rebuilding of Hell underway, there was a little bit of a waiting list to be judged, but Am had a list of VIPs, whose folders made their way to the top of the pile. Dex hated that she was giving people special treatment, but she reminded him that she had given him a job that ignored that he deserved punishment too.

“Do you think I can scare him with the wings?” She asked them, changing her body into her godly form. She hadn’t used her Queenly form enough since taking over, and while it wasn’t much different from her usual human body, she’d been told that the wings were unsettling to look at. Dex and Troy considered her for a moment, but she knew Ben well enough to know that a pair of angel wings wouldn’t scare him.

“It’s Benjamin King, you’re joking right?” Dex said, taking his file back off of her, and carefully restacking the ones that he had on his desk, glaring at Troy when the ash from his cigarette fell onto the paper.

“You guys are no fun, you know that right?” She said mocking his tone, walking past the both of them towards the room Ben was being kept in. She had plans for each of her crew, and this was about to put what she’d been working for into motion.

 

-

 

Before she had become the Boss, she had thought about this a lot. But the real thing was always better than her imagination. Lin’s hands tangled in her hair as they kissed, and Am pressed her up against the wall, pulling away to move her lips to her neck. Lin gasped at the sensation, and Am tried not to smirk into her skin as one of her hands made its way to the exposed skin of her stomach.

“Am…” She moaned as Am’s fingers played with the waistband of her pants. She needed to get them back to her bedroom so that no one passing would see them, but all thoughts of privacy went out of the window when Lin slipped her thigh between her legs, her hands coming to rest on her hips, rolling them against her. Am let out a shuddering moan at her movements, an urgency taking over her mind as she slipped her hand down the front of Lin’s pants. She kissed her again as her fingers reached between her legs, Lin moaning against her lips. She bucked her hips, desperate for more, but Am kept her fingers moving slowly, laughing slightly at her gasps.

 

Someone cleared their throat behind her and they both froze. Turning her head, she saw Dex stood in the doorway, a look of horror on his face. Pulling away from Lin, who had gone bright red, she rounded on Dex. He shrunk back from her anger, but she knew that for him to leave the judgement office, that what he had to say must be important.

“Dex, I’m busy.” She crossed her arms, and he flinched when she moved, terrified that she was going to throw him into the pit.

“You said to let you know when someone off your list comes to Hell!” He said quickly, averting his eyes from Lin, who looked like she wanted the floor to open up and swallow her whole.

“I’m pretty sure this could’ve waited.” She said, glaring at him. She’d been waiting for years to even kiss Lin, let alone fuck her up against a wall.

“Well… He’s singing.” Dex finally came out with, taking a step back. Am had to laugh at that. She hadn’t expected Pierce to come this soon after Ben had arrived, but Ben would need someone to help him build his business empire. Not to mention they’d been using Pierce’s demo tapes as punishment for a couple years now, with great success.

“Take him to Ben. I’ll come see him when he’s settled.” She waved her hand at Dex, and he knew that the conversation was over. Turning back to Lin, she grinned. “Where were we?” She asked, approaching her lover once more.

 

-

 

She couldn’t believe that there would be people stupid enough to revolt against her rule, but the fight to maintain control of Hell was more stressful than anything she’d had to deal with during her time as Queen. Dex knocked on the door frame as he entered the room, Asha following him. Am turned from her window that overlooked the city to greet her. Asha looked angry, and Am immediately knew why.

“Did you really think you were getting into heaven, Asha?” She asked, smiling at her. Asha chose not to speak, so Am continued. “I’ve been waiting for you. I need your help.”

That got her attention. Asha quirked an eyebrow, clearly intrigued as to why Am would need her help.

“There’s been an uprising amongst the inhabitants of Hell. I don’t trust many people down here, so I don’t know what is happening at ground level. We’re trying our best, but I need someone to go undercover to find out what’s going on.”

“And you would like me to do that?” Asha asked, stepping toward the window where Am was stood.

“I’m willing to overlook your punishment if you swear your loyalty to our cause.” Am turned to her, stretching her wings. She knew she needed someone like Asha on her team. Asha would worm her way into the resistance for her, secretly working with her to take them down. This is what she was trained to do. This is what she loved, and Am was more than happy to indulge her if it meant it would work to their advantage.

“Then I suppose that I have a new Queen and country to serve.” Asha said after a few moments of silence. Am smiled at her old crew mate, and waved her hand toward Dex.

“Dex will give you all the details we already know and he’ll take you to Troy, who will place you where we think will suit you best. You will be reporting to him during your time undercover.” Asha nodded, and there was nothing more to say between them. Am knew that if Asha did her job properly, she would be letting her continue working undercover for her, finding out things that she couldn’t because of her position. Dex lead her out of the room as Lin appeared at the door. Am sighed, her wings fading away until she was in her human form again. Lin pushed the door closed and locked it behind her.

“Am, you’ve been up here for days, you need to come out and relax.” Am sighed at her words. It was true. All she’d done for the last few days was focus on the uprising. How could she focus on anything else when this threatened to destroy everything she’d built so far?

“I don’t need to relax, I need to work.” Am moved to the desk, looking at the various screens on the wall. There were so many people that she needed to interrogate, so many people to punish for their involvement. She really needed Shaundi and Kinzie here to help, but she couldn’t rush their deaths. She wouldn’t do that to her friends. Lin followed her, taking her hand.

“I’m fucking worried about you.” She said, as Am took her hand back.

“I thought we weren’t on right now?” Am asked, as Lin leaned in. Her lips brushed hers, and Am knew that this was Lin’s way of saying that they were back on, even if it was just for one day.

Lin pushed her until she felt the back of her thighs hit the desk. Taking the hint, she perched on it as Lin pushed up her skirt, kissing her harder. Lin kissed down her jaw, pressing rough kisses to her neck and chest. Lin knelt, a smirk crossing her features as she pulled Am closer to her. Am closed her eyes, sighing as she felt Lin’s breath against her skin.

 

Her lips were slowly working up her thigh, Lin’s fingers lacing with her own as her tongue darted out, barely brushing where she wanted her to touch the most. She groaned when she finally sucked on the sensitive flesh. She gasped, moaning Lin’s name as she worked her. She felt Lin’s deft fingers press against her entrance, slowly thrusting into her. Lin curled her fingers as she thrust, and Am moaned loudly, the feeling building in the pit of her stomach. She looked down at Lin, staring into her dark eyes as she pushed Am over the edge. Am leaned back onto the desk as she shuddered, pleasure rolling over her in waves. Lin pulled away, leaning over to kiss her as she came down from her high.

 

“You a bit more relaxed now?” She whispered against her lips and Am giggled, tangling her hand into her hair to pull her closer.

-

 

It was during the middle of a meeting with her crew that she knew Shaundi had come to Hell. Dex’s head shot up the minute they both felt her presence in the waiting room, and the meeting had to be suspended. Ben and Pierce had been doing well running their business together. They’d built an empire in her new city, just like Ben had done when he was alive. She gave them free reign, and in return, they gave her information and helped to keep people on the top level in line. Dex had flourished in his role as judge, and Troy was keeping the peace. Hell had never run so smoothly, and she was proud of their team for managing to keep this place in one piece. But she was still missing some of her crew, and while things were running smoothly now, there was still a lot of work to put into making things better.

 

When she arrived with Dex, Shaundi was pacing the waiting room, obviously agitated. Sometimes the process was jarring, and many people came to judging in a bad way. Shaundi appeared to be no different. Am took a deep breath as she entered the room. Shaundi immediately rounded on her. As angry as she was, Am was so glad to see her friend again. Shaundi had held out on the new planet for longer than Am had expected. Am hadn’t been to the surface during her time in Hell, but she knew that Shaundi had found herself a husband and fallen in love. She’d lived long enough to see her own children have children, as they set up a new society that was thriving on the new Earth. The Shaundi that stood in front of her was the age that she had known her best. She was young again, no trace of the long life she had lead after Am’s death in her face.

“Oh my god.” She said, stopping in her tracks. Am held her arms out, smiling at her. Shaundi hesitated, unsure of what to do. Am could feel that she longed to hug her old friend, but at the same time she wanted to punch her in the face. She had to laugh.

“I wouldn’t recommend punching me, honey.” Shaundi looked confused at how Am would’ve known that, but Am collected her in a hug. She froze for a moment, before allowing herself to wrap her arms around her.

“What happened?” She said, overwhelmed by the whole thing. Am pulled back from the embrace, smiling.

“Well it all started when I got made the new Satan…”

-

 

Kinzie was pouting when she entered the room. She crossed her arms, narrowing her eyes at Am as she took a seat in front of her.

“What?” Am asked, tilting her head at her old friend.

“I didn’t believe in God until this whole Hell thing.” Kinzie said curtly, and Am had to smile. “I hoped it was all a horrible dream.”

“I made a few changes around here while I was waiting for you.”

“Yeah? Like what.” Kinzie looked around Dex’s office, clearly unimpressed.

“I’m not going to throw you in a pit if that’s what you’re thinking.” Am said, sliding a folder over to her. Kinzie liked power just as much as she did, and she had planned for Kinzie coming to Hell for a long time. Kinzie and Shaundi were going to make a formidable team, and she couldn’t wait to see what they were going to do.

 

-

 

Matt was quiet when she entered the room. She smiled at him, but the terror on his face said everything she needed to know. He didn’t want to be here, but then again most people didn’t. He was a little older than he had been the last time she saw him, but the eyeliner had remained. She was glad to see that he hadn’t changed that part of himself, despite growing older.

“Are you okay?” She asked and he shook his head. “Hey, it’s okay.” She reached out to take his hand, but he recoiled from her.

“Why am I here?” He asked quietly, curling in on himself.

“Honey, you did some pretty bad things. I don’t know why you’re surprised.” She said carefully, watching him closely.

“And why are you here?” He asked, considering her, but she knew he was only asking out of courtesy. A man as smart as Matt would know why she’s the one that he’d met first in Hell. She smiled again, and he sighed.

“You knew the answer to that question before you asked it.” She kept her voice quiet, so not to scare him. “But I can offer you another option if you believe that you have been judged unfairly.”

 

He looked at her, desperate for a way out. She could feel it pouring off of him in waves. He wouldn’t last two minutes down here, even if he was under her protection.

“What do I have to do?” He asked, leaning forward.

“There is a place where you can repent. It will take some time, but you will go to Heaven.” He nodded as she spoke, and she patted his hand. “It was nice to see you again, Matt. I hope you find happiness in Heaven.”

 

-

 

Only one of her friends came willingly. Jezebel was the last of her crew to turn up, skipping into the waiting room like she owned the place. Apparently she had been waiting for everyone to die before she finally returned to her home, and Am didn’t question that. Jezebel had never seen Hell quite like this, and she knew that she had been impressed by her plans. Jezebel had been taken aback at first at how different Am was, but she quickly found a place for herself in the new Hell, helping complete Am’s team, making sure that the resistance was finally over.

 

-

 

The refurbishment of hell was going better than any of them had hoped. God had been more than happy for her to implement her new ideas, and it turned out that Satan really hadn’t cared as much as she did. Satan just handed out general punishments for every person who came through Hell, and Amethyst had begun separating the people who were in hell for minor issues and the people who were in Hell for much worse years before she’d finished building her own hell. She’d made separate levels, with her new city at the top. She’d reinstated Purgatory as an option to get into heaven for those with minor sins, and for those who didn’t want to repent, they were sentenced into building and extending the city. Many years had now passed since her appointment as Queen, and Hell was thriving.

“You ready for your meeting?” Lin asked, coming up behind her. Am continued her survey of the landscape, content that Hell would survive for the couple of hours while she was gone.

“Of course. I just hate how boring Heaven is.” Am turned to face Lin, who was looking out over the skyline too. The building of the city was coming along so much better than she’d ever hoped. They were on track to be done years before she had first estimated, and God was thrilled that Hell was working better than ever. Well, she figured God was more thrilled that she was more willing to work with them than Satan had been. Things were peaceful at the moment, but she had heard rumours of a rebellion bubbling below the surface. That’s mainly what she wanted to speak to God about this time. Her forces were something to be reckoned with, but with them working together, she was sure that they could crush this rebellion before it even began.

“Shaundi and Kinzie are overseeing the other levels while you’re gone. Troy’s checking Purgatory and I’m going down to settle an argument between Ben and Dane.”

“I’m only going for a couple of hours, I doubt things could go that wrong in that time.” Am walked towards her closet, deciding on what to wear. Picking out a dress that she didn’t think she’d worn yet, she began to get changed.

“Do you not remember what happened thirty years ago?” Am threw down her shirt and rolled her eyes as she unbuttoned her pants.

“Just a little confusion because we were doing spring cleaning.” She brushed off Lin’s comment.

“We moved millions of souls that year, and you call it spring cleaning.” Lin picked Am’s blouse up from the floor and folded it as she slipped into her dress. Lin was stressing about nothing. It had been the biggest change in the history of Hell, but they’d gotten there eventually.

“And don’t you think this place looks so much better now?” She turned to Lin, who zipped up the dress for her.

“Okay, you got me there.” She smiled as Am turned back around, smoothing out her dress. Lin leaned into her and caught her lips in a kiss. Am smiled into it, reaching up to pull her closer. Things had been good between them, as much as Am hadn’t wanted to get involved with her right hand man again, they had both realised that there was no pressure to be in a relationship like they might have had on Earth. They had eternity, and they had been turning things off and on when they felt like it, just enjoying the freedom that death had given them.

 

-

 

Being late to the meetings was never something that made people up here like her, but she didn’t give a fuck what they thought about her. Breezing in, she knew they wouldn’t have started without her, so she took her seat at the other end of the table. And then she saw him. And nothing else mattered anymore.

 

She couldn’t concentrate. All she could do was glare at him. How dare he come here after all this time and sit in front of her like nothing had happened. She couldn’t even listen to what anybody had to say, she was so angry. Apparently he was the new general of Heaven’s army, and Amethyst was cursing God in her head for doing this. When the meeting ended, she was the first on her feet and out of the room. Heading straight to the garden, she hoped that he had more sense than to follow her.

 

She loved this garden. Heaven was boring as fuck, but she couldn’t get enough of this garden. Every time she came up here, she made sure to walk through. It was split into areas, and every area had thousands of plants and flowers from around earth. She found something new every time she came, and she appreciated the effort God had gone to in creating such a place. She had considered creating such a garden in Hell to enjoy for herself, but it didn’t fit the whole Hell aesthetic. Besides, it was a nice place to come to when she needed to relax, and God trusted her enough to let her wander through Heaven without fucking with everything she touched.

And god, did she feel like fucking up everything at the moment.

It had been so long since she had last seen him. And she was _happy_. But seeing him there had brought up a hell of a lot of old feelings that she wasn’t prepared for. Death had opened her eyes and showed her that him leaving hadn’t been the end of the world for her, but there was still a lot of residual anger about the way he had ended things there. She couldn’t regret dying when she did because she loved doing her job now. She loved that she was the ruler of hell, that she was a Queen.

 

“Am! Wait!” He shouted, running after her and she rounded on him. She was losing control already, and she could feel death surrounding her. The grass at her feet was wilting and dying, the sky- once blue and cloudless, darkening grey as if a storm was coming.

“You don’t get to call me that.” She narrowed her eyes at him, and he took a step back, his hands up.

“Am, come on. At least let me explain.”

“Explain what? That you chose to come to heaven instead of coming back to us? That you chose a _dead woman_ instead of coming to create a new planet?” Fire burst out of her fingertips, and thunder rumbled overhead. She had to remind herself where she was and how unhappy God would be for fucking up his domain. She took a breath and controlled herself, reigning in her anger until the sky cleared again.

“You’re being fuckin’ dramatic.” He said, daring to come closer to her. She stepped away, turning her back on him.

“Fuck you.” He tried to touch her shoulder, but she uncurled her wings and stormed away from him. When she looked up, she froze in her tracks.

 

Aisha was stood at the other end of the garden, staring at them both. Her expression was unreadable, and Am had no intention to stick around long enough to find out what she had to say. She didn’t know if Johnny would’ve even told her what happened, but from the look on her face, she doubted that he had been honest with her about what had been between them. She had loved him, and she would always love him, but he had tainted that unconditional love she once felt.

 

And she couldn’t be around Aisha, knowing that he had left to be with her. Turning on her heel, she disappeared. She couldn’t be in Heaven with them anymore.

 

She landed just outside of the palace, and night was falling across Hell. Looking out over the city, the lights of the buildings shone bright in the darkness of the night sky and Am could feel herself calming down. Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath, trying to relax her entire body. She had tensed up when she had seen Aisha, her entire body on high alert. Storming into the palace, she made her way up to her bedroom. She needed to be alone right now. She dreaded to think what she might do to anyone who tried to talk to her when she was this upset.

 

“Am. We need to talk.” His voice said from behind her, and she rounded on him.

“Are you fucking serious?” She shouted, and she could feel herself losing control again. At least down here when she lost control it was on her own turf.

 

She slammed him against the wall, her manicured fingernails digging into his neck deep enough to draw blood. He didn’t put up a fight, and rage bubbled in her chest again. He should be fighting back, not looking at her with sadness in his eyes. His hand found it’s way to her cheek, brushing her hair out of her eyes. Jerking her head away, she stepped back. She was too close to him, and she could feel almost everything he was feeling. He wanted her, and she was ashamed to admit that she wanted him too. Pulling him down onto the bed, she dug her nails into his back as his hands went to rip off her dress.

 

-

 

When she realised what she had done, she panicked. Jumping up from the bed, she ignored his shout of protest as she rounded on him.

 

“Get the fuck out!” She screamed at him, grabbing her silk robe and tying it at the waist. The black fabric barely covered her body, but that didn’t bother her at that moment. She wanted him gone, and he was refusing to move. She threw a pillow at his stupid head, but he ducked and it went flying past him, instead hitting the wall behind where he had stood. She didn’t want to resort to banishing him, but it was looking more and more likely by the second.

“Am, I’m not leaving!” He shouted back, stepping toward her. He hadn’t bothered to dress himself and if she wasn’t so mad, she’d be laughing at how ridiculous this whole situation was. But she was enraged. All she could focus on was her anger with not just him, but with herself too. Why would she let this happen? She knew that she would just get hurt by doing this, and she carried on anyway. She could feel tears threatening to spill, and she needed him to be far, far away from her.

“Johnny, I can’t do this.” She finally said, avoiding eye contact with him. She could hear her voice crack when she spoke, and she turned away from him. He moved to put his hand on her shoulder, but she stepped forward, out of his reach.

“You may not stay in my domain any longer.” She began, and she heard him try to protest from behind her, but she cut him off. “You are banished from Hell, back to where you came from.”

“Am-“ He started, but whatever he had to say was cut off by him disappearing. Once she was sure he had gone, she let out a sob and fell to her knees. How could she be so stupid? She didn’t hear the door opening, and she didn’t hear Lin rushing over to her. Sobs racked her body as Lin took her into her arms, not questioning why she was upset, and just holding her until she had no more tears left.

“I don’t know why I was so stupid” Am whispered, her voice raw.

“What happened?” Lin asked, and Am realised that she probably didn’t know that Johnny had been here. Am shook her head, unable to find the words. Lifting her hand to her face, she patted her cheeks dry. She gulped, blinking the last of the tears out of her eyes.

“I’m an idiot.” She mumbled into Lin’s shoulder, unable to look at her.

 

-

 

She’d felt the change in her body only a few hours after Johnny had been banished. She had dismissed it at first, because she didn’t want to think about it, but the evidence was staring her in the face.

 

Picking herself up off of the bathroom floor, she cursed God for making her suffer like this. Surely having godly powers would’ve excused her from morning sickness, but life was just that unfair. Someone was knocking on the bathroom door, but she ignored them in favour of splashing cold water on her face. They could wait until she was ready, and she wasn’t ready to face them just yet. Sighing, she dried her face. How did this even happen? She was technically dead, she shouldn’t even be in this position. But then again, Satan had a daughter, so it wasn’t impossible.

“Am? Can you open up?” Lin’s voice was softer than normal, and Am froze. She’d told her what happened of course, and Lin had been treading on eggshells ever since. She knew how she’d felt about Johnny, and she knew how heartbroken she had been over what he did to her. She looked at the door, considering her options. She loved Lin. She’d known that since they’d kissed for the first time, but she was scared that she’d hurt her by sleeping with Johnny. It had been a moment of weakness, and Lin had said she understood at the time, but now she was scared. If Lin rejected her as well, she didn’t know what she would do. The knocking continued, and Am knew she had to open the door. They needed to talk about this, and she needed to try to be mature about it.

“I’m coming.” She said quietly, unlocking the bathroom door to be met with Lin’s concerned face.

“What’s going on.” She demanded, more than asked of her. Am took a deep breath. It was now or never.

“I’m pregnant.”

 

-

 

She rolled over, glad that the nausea stage was finally over. She couldn’t get too excited, as the worst parts were yet to come. Kicking off the blanket, she tried to get comfortable. She’d finally started showing, so she wasn’t going to be able to hide this for much longer, but she was going to cross that bridge when she came to it. Lin stirred next to her at the sudden movement.

“I fucking hate it when you do that.” She mumbled, trying to push the blankets back onto her side of the bed.

“This fucking sucks.” Am said, settling into a position lying on her back, closing her eyes, she decided it was time to actually attempt to sleep.

“You’re the idiot who got herself knocked up.” Lin said sharply. Her words were meant to tease rather than cause pain, but Am still had that small feeling of doubt in her mind that Lin was upset with her for what happened.

“Shut the fuck up or I’m gonna put you on pit duty for the next fifty years.” Am said and Lin shuffled so she was closer to her, wrapping one arm lazily around her stomach. Am felt that flutter in her stomach that she had already become used to as Lin’s hand rested on top of her bump. She felt Lin sit up suddenly, and she opened her eyes to look at the other woman.

“What?” She asked softly, but Lin shushed her and moved her hand to feel it again.

“Is that?” Lin asked, and she looked amazed by the feeling. Am had to laugh at her as she lifted her top up a little to reveal her stomach. Lin put her hand where the fluttering had originated, but it stopped as quickly as it started.

“You scared it away.” Am laughed again at the look on Lin’s face when the kicking stopped. Her fingers found Lins and she laced them together. It was such a strange feeling to know that they were going to be a family soon, and she had never imagined herself in such a domestic setting.

 

She was happy. And that was the most important thing.


End file.
